jpa designer solar and wind payback module - techlit.co.uk · the payback period. ... and...

JPA TL

JPA Designer

Solar Panel and Wind TurbinePayback Calculation Module

ISSUE FEBRUARY 2012

JPA TL Ltd.Newcastle Business Vil lage ,

33 Bell ingham Dr ive ,Nor th Tyneside Ind. Est. ,

Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 9SZ

T: 0191 270 5138E: sales@techlit .co.ukW: www.techlit .co.uk

Contents

Contents ii

1 IntroducingtheJPA Designerpaybackmodule 11.1 Quickstart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 Gettingstarted 32.1 Gettinghelp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.2 Systemrequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.3 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.4 Userregistration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.5 On-linelicencechecking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.6 Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.7 StartingJPA Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.8 UninstallingJPA Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3 Managingprojectsandcalculations 83.1 Startinganewproject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.2 Addingprojectaddressdetails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.3 Savingprojects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103.4 Openingprojects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103.5 Addingcalculationstoaproject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.6 Openingandclosingcalculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.7 Duplicatingcalculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.8 Renamingcalculationsandprojects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123.9 Deletingcalculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123.10 Programoptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4 Paybackcalculations 144.1 Projectinformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154.2 Solarpanelsandwindturbines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164.3 Paybackresults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184.4 Outputtingpaybackresults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

ii

1 IntroducingtheJPA Designerpaybackmodule

Thismanualexplainshowtouse JPA Designer tocarryoutsolarpanelandwindturbinepaybackcalculationsfortheFeed-InTariff(FIT).

Thepaybackmodule in JPA Designeruse themethods inSAP 2009 todetermine theamountofelectricitygeneratedbyphotovoltaicpanelsandsmall-scalewindturbines1.

Themodulethenestimatesthepaybackperiodfortheinstallation, takingaccountof:

• theinitialcostoftheinstallationandtheinterestonanyloan;

• theincomefromthefeed-intariff;

• savingsonelectricitybills;

• incomefromsaleofelectricitytothegrid;

• generalinflation(whichaffectstheFIT rate)andenergypriceinflation.

TheQuickStart guideinthenextsectiontakesyouthroughthemainstepsininstallingtheprogramandcarryingoutabasicpaybackcalculation. Therestofthemanualcontainsin-depthinformationtohelpyougetthemostoutofthesoftware.

WehopeyoufindJPA Designerausefulcalculationtool. Wearealwayshappytoreceivecomments, suggestionsforimprovementsornewfeatures.

1.1 Quickstart

Thissectionguidesyouthroughthemainstepsofthepaybackcalculationandtellsyouwherecanfindmoreinformationoneachofthosestepslateroninthemanual.

Thefirstthingtodoistoinstallandregistertheprogram:

1. DownloadandinstallJPA Designer(see chapter 2).1ThegenerationfigurebasedonSAP 2009isanestimatedvalue. AstheMCS disclaimerstates: the

performanceofsolarPV systemsisimpossibletopredictwithcertaintyduetothevariabilityintheamountofsolarradiation(sunlight)fromlocationtolocationandfromyeartoyear. ThisestimateisbaedontheGovernment'sstandardassessmentprocedureforenergyratingofbuildings(SAP) andisgivenasguidanceonly. Itshouldnotbeconsideredasaguaranteeofperformance.

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CHAPTER1. INTRODUCING THE JPA DESIGNER PAYBACK MODULE 2

2. SelectJPA Designerfromthe Start button(see section 2.7). Theprogramopens.

3. Onthetoolbarclick EditUser&SecurityCodes. Thisopensthe UserRegistrationdialoguebox(see section 2.4).

4. Inthe PV productdetails area, inthe Yourcompanyname box, entertheusernameyoureceivedinyourregistrationemail.

5. Nowcopythetwentycharactercodefromtheemailandpasteitintothetextboxnexttothe Apply buttons. Click ApplyPV keycode. ThecodeiscopiedintothePV keycode boxes. Click OK.

Nowyoucanstartapaybackcalculation:

1. Onthe Insert menu, click SolarPanel&WindTurbinepaybackcalculation.

2. Onthe Description dialogueboxclick OK.Theprogramaddsanewpaybackcal-culationtothelist, named SolarPayback1.

3. Inthe ProgramManager window, doubleclickon SolarPayback1. The Paybackwindowopens(see chapter 4).

4. Onthe Edit menu, click SolarPanel&WindTurbinedetails. The SolarPanel&WindTurbines dialogueboxopens(see section 4.2).

5. Inthe Photovoltaics section, onthefirstrow(row1)set

• PeakkW to 4.

• Pitch to 30º.

• Direction to South.

• Overshading to Noneorverylittle.

6. Inthe Costs section, setthe Totalinstalledcostsofsystem to10000.

7. Click OK.

8. The PaybackwindownowshowsthePV output, theincomeandsavingsfiguresandthepaybackperiod. The Paybackgraph andthe Electricitygeneration graphshowpaybackperiodsandmonthlygenerationfigures.

Andthat'sit: acompletedpaybackcalculation. Ifyouwantto, youcanprinttheresultsofthiscalculation(see section 4.4):

1. Onthetoolbar, click Print.

2. The Printpreview opens. Youcanmovethroughthepreviewusingthearrowkeysatthetopofthewindowtomovebetweenpagesandthescrollbartothesidetomoveupanddownthepages.

3. Whenyouaresatisfiedwiththeresults, clickthe Print button.

2 Gettingstarted

ThissectionofthemanualdescribeshowtoinstallJPA DesigneronyourPC andexplainshowtheuserregistrationandon-linelicencecheckingsystemswork. ItalsoincludesinstructionsonupdatingyourcopyofJPA Designer.

2.1 Gettinghelp

Thismanualusesthefollowingconventions:

• <angledbrackets> forkeysonthecomputerkeyboard, e.g. the <Enter> key.

• the + signindicatesyoushouldholddownonekeywhilepressinganother, e.g.<Alt+F> means‘holddownthe <Alt> keywhilepressingthe <F> key’.

• Boldtype indicatespartsofJPA Designer’sscreendisplays, e.g. the SolarPanelsandWindTurbines dialoguebox.

• Menu>option indicatestheoptioninthemenuontheprogram’smenubar, e.g. Se-lect Edit>Primaryheatingsystem means selectthe Primaryheatingsystem optionfromthe Edit menu.

Thismanualusesthefollowingspecialterms:

• dialoguebox: asmallwindowwhichdisplaysboxesorbuttonsforenteringdata.

• Optionbutton: asetofroundbuttons. Youcanonlyselectoneatatime.

• Tickbox: aboxwhichshowswhetherornotaparticularsettingison(ticked)oroff(notticked).

• Textbox: anareaonadialogueboxinwhichyoucantypewordsornumbers.

• List: aboxwhichcanbeexpandedtoshowanumberofpre-setoptions, usuallybyclickinganarrowontheright-handsideofthebox.

Ifyouhaveaproblemwiththe functioning ofthesoftwarepleasefollowthesesteps:

• Downloadand install the latestversionof JPA Designer fromourwebsite (sec-tion 2.3 forinstructions)andseeifthatresolvestheproblem.

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CHAPTER2. GETTING STARTED 4

• ChecktheforumandFAQ onourwebsite(http://forum.techlit.co.uk)toseeiftheproblemisaddressedthere.

• Iftheproblempersists, emaildetailsoftheproblemto [email protected]. PleaseincludedetailsofyourcomputersystemandattachsamplefilesorPDF outputswherepossible. Wewillrespondassoonaswecan.

2.2 Systemrequirements

JPA Designer requires a PC runningWindows XP or later. JPA Designer can run onIntel-basedAppleMacintoshcomputersusingvirtualisationsoftware(suchasParallelsorVMWare), orthroughBootcamp. However, wedonotguaranteetheprogramwillrunonsuchsystems, nordoweoffertechnicalsupport.

The computermust have an internet connection to enable theprogram to check thevalidityofyourlicencewheneveritstarts.

2.3 Installation

ToinstallJPA DesigneronyourPC:

1. Gotoourwebsiteatwww.techlit.co.ukandrightclickonDownloadJPA Designer:select Savelinkas (forFirefox)or Savetargetas (forInternetExplorer).

2. Downloadtheinstallerfile jsetup990.exe toyourPC (werecommenddownloadingthefiletotheDesktop). Thedownloadisabout12MB.

3. Doubleclickonthefile jsetup990.exe. AfterafewmomentstheInstallShieldWiz-ardopens.

Youmayseeasecuritywarningthatthepublisherofthefilecouldnotbeidentified.Ifyoudo, click Run tocontinuetheinstallationprocess.

4. Click Next tocontinuewithinstallation. Theinstallerdisplaysthe LicenceAgree-ment. Tocontinuewith the installationclick I accept the termsof the licenceagreement, thenclick Next.

5. Atthe Customerinformation screenenteryournameandcompanyname. UsetheoptionsbuttonstoselectwhetheryouwantJPA Designertobeavailabletoalluseraccountsonthecomputer, orjustone. (Werecommendyouselect all.) ClickNext.

6. Atthe ChooseDestinationLocation screenwerecommendyouacceptthedefaultsettingsandinstallJPA Designerintothefolder c:\programfiles\jpatl\jpadesigner981. Click Next. The installerwillnowcopy the JPA Designerfilesontoyourcomputer.

7. Wheninstallationhasfinishedthe SetupComplete screenisdisplayed. Tick Launchtheprogram andclick Finish. Theinstallerwillcloseand JPA Designer willopen,showingyouthe ProjectManager window.


Figure 2.1: TheEditUser&securitycodesbutton

Figure 2.2: TheUserRegistrationdialoguebox

2.4 Userregistration

WhenyoufirstinstallJPA Designertheprogramrunsin demonstrationmode anddoesnotdisplaytheresultsofcalculations. Youmustunlocktheprogramwithyourkeycodetoaccessthefullfunctionalityofthesoftware.

Toenterthekeycodefora PV andWindTurbines licence:

1. Onthetoolbar, click User&securitycodes (Figure 2.1).

2. Copytheusernamefromtheregistrationemail. Inthe PV productdetails area,pastetheusernameinthe Yourcompanyname box. (Figure 2.2).

3. Copythe keycode fromtheregistrationemailandpasteitintotheboxatthebottomofthe UserRegistration dialoguebox.


4. Click ApplyPV keycode. Theprogramwillnowpastethecodeintothe U-valuekeycode boxes.

5. Click OK.Thesoftwareisnowunlocked

2.5 On-linelicencechecking

JPA Designerwilltrytocheckthethevalidityofyourlicenceagainstouron-linelicensingdatabasethefirsttimeyouopenaPV calculationafterstartingtheprogram.

• Ifthecheckissuccessfulandthelicenceisvalidthemodulewillopen(theprogramwillrecordthedateandtimeofthatsuccessfulcheck).

• Ifthecheckissuccessfulandthelicenceisnotvalidthecalculationwillnotopen.

• Iftheprogramisunabletoconnectwiththedatabase(forexample, becauseyouareusingyour lap-topaway fromyouroffice) itwill lookat thedateof the lastsuccessfulcheck: ifthatislessthansevendaysagothenitwillopenthemodule.

• Iftheprogramisunabletoconnectwiththedatabaseandthelastsuccessfulcheckismorethansevendaysagothenitwill not openthemodule.

IfyouoftenuseJPA Designerawayfromtheofficeyoucanusethe Checklicenceon-linebuttononthetoolbarwillforcealicencecheckandre-setthetimesincethelastchecktozero. Youshouldforceacheckifyouexpectnottohaveaninternetconnectionforafewdays.

2.6 Updates

JPA Designeriscontinuallybeingdevelopedtointroducenewfeatures: togetthebestfrom theprogram it isworthmaking sureyouareusing the latest version. Tocheckwhetherthereisalaterversionavailableyoushouldcomparetheversionnumbershownonourwebsite(www.techlit.co.uk)withthatoftheprogramyouareusing. Onthe Helpmenu, click About toseetheversionnumber.Highernumbersandlettersindicatelaterreleases, withcharacterscomingearlierinthenamebeingmoreimportantthatlaterones: so4.05a1willbemorerecentthan4.04c2,and4.05b1morerecentthan4.04a4. Thethreedigit Build numberindicatesaminorchangeinaversion. Figure 2.3 showsthe About messageforJPA Designertogetherwiththeversionnumberonthewebsite: inthiscasethesoftwareisuptodate, asbothversionnumbersarethesame.Theprocessforupdatingthesoftwareisidenticaltothatoforiginallyinstallingit, butwiththeadditionalstepof uninstalling yourcurrentversionofJPA Designerbeforeinstallingthenewversion.ToupdateJPA Designer:

1. UsetheWindows Add/RemovePrograms or Uninstallprograms controlpaneltouninstallthecurrentversionofJPA Designer.

Uninstallingthecurrentversionwillnotaffectyourcalculationfiles.

2. DownloadandinstallthenewversionofJPA Designerfollowingtheinstructionsinsection 2.3.


Figure 2.3: TheversionnumberintheAboutdialogueboxshownoverthewebsite

2.7 StartingJPA Designer

TostartJPA Designer:

• Click Start, andthenpoint to Allprograms. Click JPA Designer, thenclick JPADesignerEPC SAP 9.81.

TocloseJPA Designer:

• Onthe File menu, click Exit. Theprogramwillpromptyoutocloseanyfileswhichhavenotbeensaved.

2.8 UninstallingJPA Designer

TouninstallJPA Designer:

1. Click Start, thenclick ControlPanel.

2. InControlPanel, double-click Uninstallaprogram.

3. Inthelistofprograms, double-click JPA Designer.

4. Atthemessage AreyousureyouwanttouninstallJPA Designer9.90, click Yes.

5. Theprogramisuninstalled.

ThatwillnotremoveanyJPA Designerprojectfiles.

3 Managingprojectsandcalculations

Figure 3.1: TheProjectManagerwindowshowthecalculationsinaproject

JPA Designerorganisesandsavescalculationsinprojectfiles, whichhavetheextensionJDP.YoucansaveanumberofPV calculationsinthesamefile.

Youcancreate, saveandmanagecalculationsintheJPA Designer ProjectManager win-dow(Figure 3.1), whichlistsallthecalculationsinthecurrentproject.

3.1 Startinganewproject

WheneveryoustartJPA Designertheprogramcreatesanewblankprojectwhichyoucanstartusingstraightaway. Youcanalsocreateanewprojectatanytime.

Tocreateanewproject:

• Onthe File menu, click NewProject.

Youcanchangethedefaultprojectname A blankproject tosomethingmoreuseful:

1. Clickontheprojectname, thenonthe Edit menuclick Renameselecteditem.

2. Inthe Projectname dialoguebox(Figure 3.6)typethenewnameforyourproject.

Theprojectnamedoesnotaffectthecalculationsinanyway.

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CHAPTER3. MANAGING PROJECTS AND CALCULATIONS 9

Figure 3.2: Changingthenameofaproject

3.2 Addingprojectaddressdetails

JPA Designercanstoreclientandsitedetailsforaproject, whichyoucanthencopytoalltheindividualcalculationswithinthatproject. Youcanenterandeditthatinformationusingthe ProjectAddress dialoguebox(Figure 3.3). Youcanalsosaveclientinformationtoreuseitlater.

Figure 3.3: TheProjectAddressdialoguebox

Toaddorchangeprojectinformation:

1. Onthe Edit menu, click ProjectAddress.

2. Inthe ProjectAddress dialoguebox, enterthedatabytypingitintotheappropriateboxes. Usethe <Tab> keytomovebetweenboxes.

Donot try toenterdata in thetop lefthandbox: thisbox isusedforretrievingdetailsyouhavepreviouslystored.

3. Ifyouwanttostoretheclientdetailstore-uselater, click Addtoclients.


Tore-useexistingclientdatasimplyclickonthedrop-downinthe Projectinformationdialogueboxandselectaclientfromthelist(Figure 3.4).

Ifyouneedtoeditthestoreddetailsclick Editclientslist thenmakethechangesintheEditClients dialoguebox.

Figure 3.4: Theclientnameandaddressdrop-down

3.3 Savingprojects

JPA Designerprojectaresavedinthesamewayasanyotherfile:

1. Onthe File menu, click SaveProject.

2. In the SaveAs dialoguebox, select the folder intowhich theproject shouldbesaved. Enteranamefortheprojectfile.

BydefaultJPA Designerwilladdtheextension JDP toallfilenames.

3. Click Save. JPADesignersavestheprojectanddisplaysthefilenameontheprogramtitlebar.

BydefaultJPA DesignerwillsavefilesintotheJPA Designerfolder(usually c:\ProgramFiles\JPATL\JPA Designer981). Youcanspecifyadifferentdefaultfolderusingthe Op-tions dialoguebox(see section 3.10).

Werecommendyouhaveadailyback-upscheduleforyourdata.

3.4 Openingprojects

Toopenanexistingproject:

1. Fromthe File menu, click Openproject.

2. Inthe Open dialoguebox, clickthefileyouwanttoworkwith. Click Open.

3. Theprojectopensinthe ProjectManager window.


Figure 3.5: TheDescriptiondialoguebox

3.5 Addingcalculationstoaproject

YoucanaddnewPV calculationstoaprojectinthe ProjectManager window.

ToaddanewU-valuecalculationtoaproject:

1. Onthe Insert menu, click SolarPanel&WindTurbinepaybackcalculation.

2. In Description dialoguebox(Figure 3.5)typeanameforthecalculation, e.g. 23NewRow.

3. Thenewcalculationisaddedtotheproject.

3.6 Openingandclosingcalculations

Toopenanexistingpaybackcalculationinthe ProjectManager window, either:

• double-clickonthecalculationname; or,

• clickonthecalculationname, thenonthe Edit menu, click Editselecteditem.

Tocloseacalculationandreturntothe Projectmanager window, onthetoolbar, clickProjectmanager.

3.7 Duplicatingcalculations

Ifyouwanttoprepareacalculationwhichisverysimilartoanexistingcalculationinaprojectyoucanduplicatethecalculationandthenmakeyourchangesto thecopy,withoutaffectingtheoriginalcalculation. Toduplicateacalculation:

1. Inthe ProjectManager windowclickonthecalculation.

2. On the Edit menu, select Edit>Duplicate item. The Description dialogue boxopens.

3. Typeanamefortheduplicatecalculation.

4. A copyoftheoriginalcalculationisaddedtotheproject. Youcannowworkwiththeduplicatecalculationintheusualwaywithoutalteringtheoriginal.


3.8 Renamingcalculationsandprojects

Tochangethenameofacalculation:


2. Onthe Edit menu, click Renameselecteditem.

3. Inthe Name dialoguebox, enteranewnameforthecalculation.

4. The ProjectManager windowshowsthenewname.

Figure 3.6: Changingthenameofaproject

Youcanchange thedefaultproject title A blankproject to somethingmoreuseful inexactlythesameway.

Changingthenameofacalculationorprojectwillnotaffectthecalculationresults.

3.9 Deletingcalculations

YoucandeletecalculationsfromJPA Designerprojects.

WARNING:thereisnowayofrecoveringadeletedcalculation.

Todeleteacalculation:


2. Onthe Edit menu, click Deleteselecteditem.

3. At theconfirmationmessage Areyousureyouwanttodeletetheselecteditem,click Yes.

4. Thecalculationisremovedfromtheproject.


3.10 Programoptions

YoucancustomisetheperformanceandoutputsofJPA Designerinmanyways. Mostoftheoptionsarecontrolledfromthe Options dialoguebox.

Toopenthe Options dialoguebox:

• Clickthe Options menu.

The Options dialogueboxboxhasfourtabs:

General:

• Printermargins: changesthepagemarginsforprinting.

Ifyouareusingheadedpaperyoucansetthetopmarginforthefirstpagetobegreaterthanthatofthesecondpage, whichcanbeprintedoncontinuationpaperorblankpaper.

• Companynameandaddress: thedetailsyouenterhereareusedonprint-outsofpaybackcalculations.

• Options: usethesecheckboxestoselectwhichitemswhichshouldappearontheprint-outsandtomakeback-upcopiesofJDP projectfiles.

• Start-upfolder: setsthedefaultfolderforsavingandopeningprojectfiles.

• Checkforprogrammeupdates: letsyouspecifywhetherornotthesoftwarewillcheckforupdatedversionsofJPA Designer. Formoreinformationsee section 2.6.

Theotheritemsonthistabdonotaffectpaybackcalculations.

Logoandsignature:

• Logoposition: youcanincludeyourcompanylogoonprint-outs. Usethesesettingstodeterminethepositionofthelogo. Thelogofilemustbea256colourbitmapwiththefileextensionBMP,anditmustbeintheJPA Designerfolder. Enterthenameofthefileinthetextbox, butdonotincludethepath(e.g. enter logo.bmpnot c:\Programfiles\JPATL\JPA Designer981\logo.bmp).

• Addressposition: ThesesettingsdeterminethepositionofyourcompanyaddressonprintoutsandPDFs. Entertheaddressitselfinthe General tab.

Youcanignorethe Certificatesignatureposition andthe TIMSA logoposition options:theydonotaffectpaybackcalculations.

Email:

Therearenooptionsforpaybackcalculationsonthistab.

Other:

Therearenooptionsforpaybackcalculationsonthistab.

4 Paybackcalculations

Figure 4.1: ThePaybackwindow

Paybackcalculationsarecarriedoutfromthe Payback window(Figure 4.1), whichcon-sistsof:

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CHAPTER4. PAYBACK CALCULATIONS 15

1. The Menu.

2. The Toolbar.

3. Theresultssummary.

4. Thepaybackandgenerationgraphs.

Therearefivemainstepstocarryingoutapaybackcalculation:

1. Createandopenanewpaybackcalculation(see section 3.5 and section 3.6).

2. Settheprojectinformation(section 4.1).

3. EnterthePV panelandturbinedata, togetherwiththefinancialassumptions(sec-tion 4.2).

4. Reviewtheresults(section 4.3). Ifnecessaryyoucanrevisethe

5. Printtheresults(section 4.4).

4.1 Projectinformation

Youcanenterclientandlocationdetailsfortheprojectwhichwillappearonthepay-backcalculationprint-outs.

Toaddclientandlocationdetails:

1. Onthe Edit menu, click ProjectInformation.

2. Inthe ProjectInformation dialogueboxenterclientandprojectdetailsbytypingitintotheappropriateboxes. Usethe <Tab> keytomovebetweenboxes.

Alternatively, youcancopyclientandprojectdetailswhichyouenteredinthe ProjectInformation dialogueboxinthe ProjectManager window.

TocopyclientandprojectdetailsfromProjectManager:

1. Onthe Edit menu, click ProjectInformation.

2. Inthe ProjectInformation dialoguebox, click Inherit. Anyinformationyouenteredin ProjectManager iscopiedtothe ProjectInformation dialoguebox.


Figure 4.2: TheSolarPanels&WindTurbinesdialoguebox

4.2 Solarpanelsandwindturbines

Theinputdata for thephotovoltaicpanelsandwindturbinesareenteredin the SolarPanels&WindTurbines dialoguebox.

Toopenthedialoguebox:

• onthetoolbar, click SolarPanel&WindTurbinedetails: or,

• onthe Edit menuclick SolarPanel&WindTurbinedetails.

The SolarPanels&WindTurbines dialoguebox(Figure 4.2)hasthreesections:

• Photovoltaics;

• Microwindturbines;

• Costs.

Atthebottomofthedialogueboxarethreebuttons:

• Toaccepttheinputdataandclosethedialoguebox, click OK.


• Toacceptalltheinputdatainthedialogueboxbutkeepsthedialogueboxopen,click Apply. Thismakes iteasy toseehowchanges to the inputdataaffect thecalculationresultsandthenmakefurtherchanges.

• Todiscard the inputdata in thedialogueboxandclose thedialoguebox, clickCancel.

Photovoltaics

Toassessthebenefitsofinstallingphotovoltaicpanelsonthedwellingyoumustenterthefollowdataaboutthepanels:

• The PeakkW ofthesystem, whichyoucancalculatebymultiplyingthepeakkWoftheindividualpanelsbythenumberofpanels.

• The Pitch ofthepanels.

• The Direction whichthepanelsface.

• Theamountof Overshading fromtreesoradjacentbuildings.

Youcanspecifytwodifferentphotovoltaicinstallationsforthesamedwelling, toallowforsituationswherepanelsareinstalledondifferentroofslopes.

Windturbines

Toassessthebenefitsofinstallingoneormorewindturbinesonthedwellingorwithinitscurtilage1 youmustenterthefollowingdataabouttheturbines:

• the Numberofturbines.

• the Rotordiameter, measuredinmetres.

• thetypeof terrainwhichsurroundsthedwelling, whichwillbeeitherDenseurban,Lowriseurban/suburban or rural.

• the height ofthehuboftheturbineabovetheridgeoftheroof, inmetres.

Costs

Toassesstheoverallcostsandbenefitsofthepanelsand/orturbinesyoumustcompletethe Costs areaofthedialoguebox. Thefirstrowisforthecostoftheinstallation:

• Totalinstalledcosts: howmuchwillthephotovoltaicpanelsandturbinescosttoinstall.

• Interestrateonloan: iftheclientwillbetakingoutaloantopayfortheinstallationentertheinterestratehere. Ifthereisnoloanleavethisboxatzero.

1Anareaoflandattachedtoahouseandformingoneenclosurewithit.


• Interestadded: determinesiftheinterestontheloanisaddedona yearly ormonthlybasis. Addinginterestonamonthlybasiswillincreasethepaybackperiod.

Therestofthe Costs sectionisforthedatausedinthepaybackcalculation:

• Assessmentperiod: thelengthoftimeoftheassessment, inyears. Thisisgenerallysetat25years, whichisthedurationofthefeed-intariff.

• Unitpriceofelectricity: thepriceinpenceperkWhatthetimeofcalculation.

• Exporttariff: theamountpaidbytheelectricitysupplierforenergygeneratedbythesystemandexportedtothegrid, inpenceperkWh.

• Feed-intariff: theamountpaidbygovernmentforeachunitofelectricitygeneratedbythesystem, whetherusedwithinthedwellingorexported, inpenceperkWh.

• The percentageofgenerationusedwithinthedwelling. Electricitygeneratedandusedwithinthedwellingreducestheuseofgridelectricity. Electricitygeneratedbutexportedonlyattractsthelowergenerationpayment. Consequently, thegreatertheproportionofelectricityusedwithinthedwelling, themorebenefitisderivedfromthepanelsorturbines.

• Paneldegradation: thisrepresentsthelossofperformanceofthesolarpanelsovertheassessmentperiod. A commonpresumptionisthatattheendofathirtyyearperiodthepanelswillhaveonly80%oftheirinitialperformance.

• Systemlosses: aproportionoftheelectricitygeneratedislostthroughconversionfromthedirectcurrent(DC) producedbythepanelstoalternatingcurrent(AC) usedwithinthedwellingandbythegrid. 20%isacommonlyusedproportion.

• Inflationrate: theannualrateofinflation, whichisusedtoadjustthefeed-intariffrate, generallysetat4%.

• Energyinflationrate: theannualrateofinflationforenergycosts, whichisusedtoadjusttheunitpriceofelectricitywhendeterminingsavings, generallysetat9%.

YoucanchangethedefaultvaluesbuiltintotheprogrambysettingtheitemsfromtheAssessmentperiod tothe Energyinflationrate tothevaluesyouwanttousethenclickingSetasdefaults. Thenexttimeyoustartacalculationtheprogramwillshowyourvalues.

4.3 Paybackresults

Onceyouhaveenteredthepanel, turbineandfinancialdata, JPA Designershowstheestimatedelectricaloutputofthesystemandthefinancialreturns. Theresultssummary(section3ofthe Payback windowin Figure 4.1), shows:

• theannualelectricaloutputofanywindturbines;

• theannualelectricaloutputofanyPV panels;

• thetotalannualelectricaloutputofthesystem;


• theinstalledcostofthesystem;

• theestimatedpaybackperiodinyearsandmonths.

Therighthandsideoftheresultssummaryshowsthebenefitofgenerationforsingleyearduringtheassessment. Youcansettheyearusingthe Year slider, andtheprogramshows:

• the Feed-InTariffincome fromalltheelectricitygenerated;

• the incomefromexportedelectricity, thatis, electricitygeneratedbythesystembutnotusedwithinthedwelling);

• the electricitysavingwhichcomesfromusinggeneratedelectricityinthedwelling;

• the totalbenefit whichisthesumofthosethreeitems.

Asyoumovetheslidertherightandviewlateryearsyouwillseetheannualincomeandbenefitsincreaseasaresultofgeneralinflationandenergycostinflation.

Belowthenumericalresultsaretwographs:

• the Payback graphshowsthecumulativebenefitofthesystemovertheassessmentperiod. Thepaybacklinestartsatanegativenumber, whichistheinstallationcost.Thepointatwhichthepaybacklinecrosseszeroonthey-axisisthebreak-evenpoint.

• the Electricitygeneration graphshowstheamountofelectricitygeneratedforeachmonthoftheyear.

Youcanswitchbetweengraphsbyclickingthe Payback and Electricitygeneration tabs.

4.4 Outputtingpaybackresults

Youcanprinttheresultsofpaybackcalculationsinordertogivethemtoapotentialclient.

Toprintresults:

1. Onthetoolbar, clickthe Print button.

2. The PrintPreview windowopens, showingadraftqualitypreviewoftheprint-out.Usethethescrollbarontherighttomoveupanddownindividualpages, andthearrowbuttonsatthetopleftofthewindowtomovebetweenpages.

3. Ifyouarehappywiththepreviewclick Print.

Theprint-outconsistsofthreepages:

• Page1: Summarisestheinputsandresults(anexampleisshownin Figure 4.3):

1. Yourlogoandaddressdetails.

2. Theclientandprojectdetails.


Figure 4.3: Thefirstpageofthepaybackprint-out


3. Theresultssummary, includingthepaybackperiod.

4. Theinputdata, includingthefinancialassumptions.

5. ThePV andwindturbinedisclaimersrequiredbytheMCS.

• Page2showstheelectricitygenerationgraph.

• Page3showsthepaybackgraph.

Youcancustomiseprintoutsbyaddingyourcontactdetailsandacompanylogo: thisisexplainedin section 3.10. Youcanalsochangethefontusedontheprintout: ontheFile menu, click Font andmakethechangesinthe Font dialoguebox.

jpa designer solar and wind payback module - techlit.co.uk · the payback period. ... and...

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